Another night at the bar, I thought. Save the few instances when Mikado
acted up, or two drunken old farts got into a fight over something the
other said that was usually stupid and unoriginal, there was relatively
nothing new. I was on my shift, of course, and the same frail faces peered
up at me in fear in passing. Looking back, maybe they seemed frail, but
everyone did next to me. Men were threatened by me, women were wary and
children were scared. Maybe it was the fact I was 6 feet 4 inches tall, or
my numerous piercings. When I had started being a bouncer, I had horns put
in place of a bullet wound, and a few more piercings. Since then, they have
become my trademark. I did it to make people more afraid of me than
necessary. I leaned back and continued to watch people, as if I was
suspicious of them. Hey, I thought, it's just my job.
However, as I was watching, something caught my eye. A girl emerged from a crowd of people, and wandered- almost stumbling- down the street, obviously lost. I stood up straight and dropped my arms to my sides as I watched her. It seemed like she was all alone in the street, just like I was the only one who noticed she was there. Realizing that I looked shocked, I crossed my arms and leaned back onto the post of the door behind me and continued watching her. I found myself somewhat.. Curious. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled and rain broke through the clouds. People ducked into buildings or into nearby alleys to try to escape like rodents running for their lives. However, she remained in the street. She continued to stray as if the rain had never touched her. She came closer to the bar and stood in front of me for what seemed like forever, and although she was actively observing her surroundings, she didn't notice me, or didn't want to notice me.
Heh, well, I guess you know what came next.
"Hey," I called out to her. I was surprised myself, maybe even more so than she was. I was the guy that everyone was afraid of, the one that was threatening.. all of a sudden.. being nice to a.. stranger.
She turned around and looked up at me quizzically. "Hey." She said weakly.
Then she did something to amaze me even more. She took one more look around, and walked up the short flight of stairs, stopping in front of me. I looked down, examining her. She was nearly a foot shorter than me, but there was something about her presence that was almost threatening. Water dripped off her long brown hair, and hit the pavement between us, and in the silence, that's all I could hear. Her pale skin glowed as the streetlight flickered, and her nose and cheeks were pink from the cold, but the strange thing was, she had gone from frightened and lost, to incredibly calm.
She covered her mouth as she coughed, paused, and then looked up at me. It was the first time she had made direct eye contact with me. Now, instead of looking at her surroundings, she was looking for an answer deep in my eyes. "W-Where am I?"
I felt the need to show the same side to her as I did to everyone, but there was something about her that made me feel.. sorry.. for her, so, I replied, with a tone in between the badass tone I use with everyone and this new sympathetic one I had found. "Standing outside of a bar called FATE."
"Oh then it is true!" She asked the question facing me, but we both knew that it was self-directed, so I said nothing.
"How long have you been out here.. uh." I stopped, realizing I didn't know her name.
"Leah." She said. "I'm Leah Fuller."
"Volt." And in reply, she nodded. And responded: "Volt Krueger, am I right? The Bouncer?"
I nodded. "There are several Bouncers."
She smiled and walked up to me a little closer, even a almost a full foot shorter than me, she was somewhat.. Intimidating. Honestly, I didn't know what was going on, and I wondered. how did she know my name? I figured it was just regular street gossip, but I had never seen her before.
On the street someone passed by, took one glance at me and left. Leah only looked at me and giggled. "Do you know them?" She asked me.
I shook my head. It was mostly the people who didn't know me who feared me, but then again, the people I did know still were threatened by me. But somehow, she remained unaffected.
Kou came out and laughed, not realizing Leah was beside me. He had his cellphone up to his ear, paused and said: "Aight, big guy, time's up. Boss said you're done for now. Sion's next up."
I felt Leah's hands on my back, and she emerged slowly from behind me, it was then that I noticed she was honestly afraid for once since she had confronted me. I didn't know how to react, so I turned my head and looked at her as she straightened up and stood beside me.
Kou stopped short, closed his cell shut without saying goodbye, and looked at Leah, who was shivering against me from the rain and in the midst of everything, I had put my arm around her. I guess you could say that was not what I was expecting. I don't think any of us did.
"Volt!" Kou shouted. "Is that a girl!"
I grunted, now somewhat aggravated. It wasn't at anyone in particular, but now that I think about it, I was just confused. "Take her inside," I said pushing her towards him. She gave a desperate glance behind her back in my direction as Kou opened the door and smiled at me. "Don't worry, Volt." He said, "We'll take care of her."
They didn't even give me time to explain. In a way, I wanted her to go away so I could put up my façade that had always worked so nicely before. Well, now I knew my life had changed. Although part of me was sure I would never see her again, the other part knew she would be back. Shaking off all these new ideas, I opened the door and walked into the bar. There was no time to think right now.
However, as I was watching, something caught my eye. A girl emerged from a crowd of people, and wandered- almost stumbling- down the street, obviously lost. I stood up straight and dropped my arms to my sides as I watched her. It seemed like she was all alone in the street, just like I was the only one who noticed she was there. Realizing that I looked shocked, I crossed my arms and leaned back onto the post of the door behind me and continued watching her. I found myself somewhat.. Curious. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled and rain broke through the clouds. People ducked into buildings or into nearby alleys to try to escape like rodents running for their lives. However, she remained in the street. She continued to stray as if the rain had never touched her. She came closer to the bar and stood in front of me for what seemed like forever, and although she was actively observing her surroundings, she didn't notice me, or didn't want to notice me.
Heh, well, I guess you know what came next.
"Hey," I called out to her. I was surprised myself, maybe even more so than she was. I was the guy that everyone was afraid of, the one that was threatening.. all of a sudden.. being nice to a.. stranger.
She turned around and looked up at me quizzically. "Hey." She said weakly.
Then she did something to amaze me even more. She took one more look around, and walked up the short flight of stairs, stopping in front of me. I looked down, examining her. She was nearly a foot shorter than me, but there was something about her presence that was almost threatening. Water dripped off her long brown hair, and hit the pavement between us, and in the silence, that's all I could hear. Her pale skin glowed as the streetlight flickered, and her nose and cheeks were pink from the cold, but the strange thing was, she had gone from frightened and lost, to incredibly calm.
She covered her mouth as she coughed, paused, and then looked up at me. It was the first time she had made direct eye contact with me. Now, instead of looking at her surroundings, she was looking for an answer deep in my eyes. "W-Where am I?"
I felt the need to show the same side to her as I did to everyone, but there was something about her that made me feel.. sorry.. for her, so, I replied, with a tone in between the badass tone I use with everyone and this new sympathetic one I had found. "Standing outside of a bar called FATE."
"Oh then it is true!" She asked the question facing me, but we both knew that it was self-directed, so I said nothing.
"How long have you been out here.. uh." I stopped, realizing I didn't know her name.
"Leah." She said. "I'm Leah Fuller."
"Volt." And in reply, she nodded. And responded: "Volt Krueger, am I right? The Bouncer?"
I nodded. "There are several Bouncers."
She smiled and walked up to me a little closer, even a almost a full foot shorter than me, she was somewhat.. Intimidating. Honestly, I didn't know what was going on, and I wondered. how did she know my name? I figured it was just regular street gossip, but I had never seen her before.
On the street someone passed by, took one glance at me and left. Leah only looked at me and giggled. "Do you know them?" She asked me.
I shook my head. It was mostly the people who didn't know me who feared me, but then again, the people I did know still were threatened by me. But somehow, she remained unaffected.
Kou came out and laughed, not realizing Leah was beside me. He had his cellphone up to his ear, paused and said: "Aight, big guy, time's up. Boss said you're done for now. Sion's next up."
I felt Leah's hands on my back, and she emerged slowly from behind me, it was then that I noticed she was honestly afraid for once since she had confronted me. I didn't know how to react, so I turned my head and looked at her as she straightened up and stood beside me.
Kou stopped short, closed his cell shut without saying goodbye, and looked at Leah, who was shivering against me from the rain and in the midst of everything, I had put my arm around her. I guess you could say that was not what I was expecting. I don't think any of us did.
"Volt!" Kou shouted. "Is that a girl!"
I grunted, now somewhat aggravated. It wasn't at anyone in particular, but now that I think about it, I was just confused. "Take her inside," I said pushing her towards him. She gave a desperate glance behind her back in my direction as Kou opened the door and smiled at me. "Don't worry, Volt." He said, "We'll take care of her."
They didn't even give me time to explain. In a way, I wanted her to go away so I could put up my façade that had always worked so nicely before. Well, now I knew my life had changed. Although part of me was sure I would never see her again, the other part knew she would be back. Shaking off all these new ideas, I opened the door and walked into the bar. There was no time to think right now.
